Consumers call for transparency on food fraud

30-Jan-2018 - Last updated on 31-Jan-2018 at 12:34 GMT

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed expected food and drink businesses to share information about fraud incidents

Most shoppers expect manufacturers to share information on potential food fraud incidents, a new report has revealed.

Food and Drink fraud: what consumers expect, published by accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehall, surveyed 1,129 UK adults aged 16-75 on their views.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Mori, revealed 49% expected businesses to share information with regulators, even when the incident could cause financial loss to customers or other members of the public.

A total of 35% expected food and drink businesses to share information about fraud incidents, even if they might cause a financial loss either to the business affected or another business.

Those canvassed expected food and drink businesses to act more promptly for frauds that could cause a health risk. A total of 42% of consumers expected businesses to share information with regulators as soon as they had a suspicion.

The report also revealed that current arrangements for sharing fraud information between the food and drink industry and the authorities were not in line with consumer expectations.

“Our research shows that consumers expect food and drink businesses to be much more transparent and, in the majority of cases, share all available information with the authorities,” the report stated.

“This means that businesses would share information about the product, organisations and individuals involved.”

Eight out of 10 consumers agreed food and drink businesses should monitor and report the type of fraud affecting them.